Do you have dozens of mostly-finished coloring books hanging out all over your house or in a bag of activities for your kids? I do. I noticed that the bag of activities I carry to church to keep my girls busy was getting very heavy! When I looked through it, it was filled with coloring books that were 80-90% finished. It seems that once the girls get new ones for Christmas, the old ones just hang out unfinished.
Here's an idea to fix the problem. Step 1-Rip off the covers, and then start removing pages. (This is the fun part!) Toss the pages that are already colored, and put the others into a pile. Step 2-Trim the torn edge off the clean pages (I kept them if one side was clean and one colored--but you know what your kids will use and what they won't). Step 3-Find a place for your fresh coloring pages, and let the kids enjoy them! (I put some in a drawer of scrap paper and some in the craft cupboard with some crayons.)
My stack of eight or so coloring books went from a huge, heavy mess to a large bag of trash and a neat pile of pictures, ready to color.
Here are a few additional ideas for the pages.
- If your kids don't like sharing coloring books when friends come over, you have a stack of pictures for the friend to choose from (and your kids don't have to rip pages out of their "favorite" coloring book.
- Instead of a coloring book, take a few pages in a folder or on a clipboard for your kids to use in the car, at the doctor's office, etc. (A few pages weighs a lot less than the whole book!) It also will make it easy to share pages with other kids that need entertainment too!
Try pairing the coloring pages with a pencil or crayon roll.
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